How to gain followers and interactions

It’s been a little while since I wrote about blogging on here. Many people have asked me about my blogging organisation and spreadsheets and if you’re interested about that, please let me know in comments and I will gladly do something about this later on, even if it should probably take me about 5 hours to write it down somehow? (okay. like every other blogging post I do #oops)

ANYWAY, today I thought I’d tackle a kind of popular topic around the blogosphere and actually talk about numbers. As you know, I might not be a fan of numbers, because all of our lives revolve around numbers, while these definitely aren’t everything. Yet, we can’t deny the rush we feel about new blog followers, new comments in our notifications tab and so on.

So today I am sharing how I do it all. I’m definitely not the biggest book blogger out there and I will be sharing half advice you already know, but mixed up with my own experience and how it worked out quite well for me, too. I hope this will or might help you and that you will enjoy it!

How to gain blog followers, interaction and be part of the blogging community

Be consistent

My number one tip to grow a following on a blog is, consistency. It’s definitely an advice you’ve heard a lot and there’s a reason for that: it actually works. Consistency means you have to write and publish blog posts on a regular basis. It’s simple, really: if people see you putting new things out there regularly, they will maybe read one blog post, then another, slowly grow accustomed to seeing you and enjoying your content and boom, subscribing, really.

Consistency does not mean you have to post every day. It just means that, if you’re posting on your blog on a regular basis, whether it’s twice a week, once a week, two times a month, you’re out there.

Consistency does not mean you can’t and should NOT take breaks. Your mental health, your personal life and everything else always comes first.

Pay attention to looks – because looks really does matter

Have you ever stumbled upon a blog with a really colorful design – I mean, so bright you can’t even see what’s happening? Did you ever try to read a blog with the font so tiny you can’t really focus on it?

If you want people to read your content, you have to make your blog, as a whole, look attractive and welcoming. That starts with a good, not too-cluttered design, with colors or / and a writing that isn’t too bright. That continues with blog posts you can actually find – either they’re directly on the homepage or you have a direct access to all of them in a menu. With categories you can find, eventually a search bar, too. Be Monica Geller, have an organized blog, or at least design.

Have an easy follow button to find. If you’re on the free WordPress.com platform, it’s there automatically at the bottom, but if you’re self-hosted, on any other platform, make some icons to follow your blog easily, at the top of your blog or on the left / right side column. To get you on bloglovin, goodreads, social media. Make it easy. Let’s face it, people are laaaaaaazy okay.

Make yourself known in the blogging community

This advice really is… well, I could talk about that one for days, really. How the heck do you make yourself known?

This also means, join bookish challenges: the ones that come to mind at the moment is the Discussion Challenge, that is an amazing way to challenge yourself to post something fun regularly, as well as to find other bloggers to chat with on great topics.

Do bookish tags. Tag other people, too. These are fun posts to write and allows us to get to know you and your bookish taste better. People love being tagged, too. Shout out loud and make friends this way. People are nice, I swear it works most of the time. (also if you’re looking for book tags, feel free to browse my blog and tag yourself in everythinggggg).

Don’t just participate by writing your blog post and that’s it. Engage with people. Comment on other blogger’s posts.

Write engaging blog posts

Yes, but Marie, what the hell is an engaging blog post? Spoiler alert: I have no idea. I just know that, some people write in a way that makes me want to engage with them, to start a conversation, to leave a comment, to interact, to follow them to see more of them on my timeline.

Obviously, these posts have to be cool to read. Meaning that, since I’m lazy and read a lot, I like having images, paragraphs, separators, funny GIFs, bold text and so on. Things that make reading a long blog post, somehow, feel like a walk in the park. (More about writing an engaging blog post here. #shamelessselfpromo)

Yet, if that’s obvious advice and something anyone can do, the best way you can to be engaging is to be yourself, too. Finding your blogging voice and how you want to write your blog posts, seriously, by inserting jokes, with loads of GIFs, screaming in ALL CAPS EVERY NOW AND THEN or expressing yourself with lists… it all takes time. Try it out to see what works out best, both for your following, interaction and most importantly, WHAT YOU ENJOY TO DO. (Oh, and be yourself. I know Cait‘s incredible and has a fabulous blogging voice. She’s herself, you’re not her. Do your thing)

Seriously. It sounds dumb but, if you’re having a fun time writing a blog post, it shows. Also, SHOW people you care. Ask them questions by the end of the blog post, recommendations. Invite them to comment.

Blog-hop

I know that not everyone is into blog-hopping and that’s perfectly okay. I’m also trying to be as honest as I can here and say it again, and again, and again: I am certain that I would not have what I have right now, if I didn’t blog-hop, at all. What do I have, you ask? Interactions, meaning people actually want to talk to me and that will never, ever cease to amaze me??

I wrote an extensive blog post on how to blog-hop, so I’m not going to spend too much time on that, but honestly… it sounds like a chore, at times. Maybe it is. But who said you have to spend a DAY reading blogs, or check out ten thousands? You can find one new blog every day, or every week. You can spend half-an-hour blog-hopping every now and then. Find your rhythm. To be honest, my number one tip in all this post is here: find people. Otherwise they won’t find you.

Answer to your own comments

When I spend time reading a blog post and never, never get acknowledged back, I feel sad. I am not saying you can’t take your time to answer your comments, or that you have to answer to every single one, especially if it’s jut someone saying “great blog post”, or something random like that. I’m saying that I genuinely enjoy seeing people spending time to write a comment, no matter how small or big, so I want to tell them thank you. I want to ask them more about their thoughts and start up a conversation. I want to maybe check out their blog and share some of the love back, too.

I don’t know if that works out well in order to gain followers and interaction, but I know people sometimes answer back. I know some people are happy I answered to them, because if it were me, I would be, too. And if you’re not blogging for that, for the conversations, I’m going to be honest and ask you, why?

Join social media

I have a love-hate relationship with social media, yet sometimes it works out well. People share blog posts there and you can share other blog posts, too. It’s easy (well… if you’re not like me) to interact with people there, make some new friends. You might even get traffic on your blog thanks to all of these blog-posts sharing. Also let’s be 300% honest here: social media’s taking over everything sooooo…. good to be in the loop there.

I realize that was not proper advice, so let me get started again. Twitter is GREAT if you’re a book blogger, because you’ll learn SO much, find out amazing bloggers to interact with. You can share your blog posts and share others, you can gain traffic, new followers and interaction, too. When it’s not too overwhelming, it’s fun. Remember to take breaks.

I didn’t talk about a bunch of stuff in that blog post. I could have mentioned SEO and how you can be found by search engines, for instance. I didn’t talk about Pinterest and other social media you could use to gain traffic and maybe followers. This post is long enough and I only focused on what I am actually using that worked out fairly well for me.

If you’re taking one thing out of this blog post, let it be this: blog to join a community. To have bookish conversations, to spread the love, give love to the world and it gives back. Also I’m just saying this because it’s the BEST thing about book blogging, so…

Best advice to take out of this though is, don’t be too impatient because it takes time. It’s so easy to get bummed out when a relatively new book blogger gets about 1K followers in that time it took you to get to 250 followers or something. Everyone has its own growth, rhythm and everyone has a different life behind the screen, too.

Also, if blog followers, interaction and everything else IS cool and bring on fun opportunities, (makes us feel very, very great, too, not denying it) please remember that it’s not ALL about numbers. Personally, I measure success on the great interactions I have with people and the friends I’ve made. And NOT the number of friends, either, but how incredible they are and let me tell you, you’re a bunch of awesome people.

Remember that numbers, followers, interaction and blogging does not come at the price of your sanity and mental health. It’s a hobby. Growing is great, having fun is always the best.

What do you think of my tips to gain followers and interactions? Which of these do you use? Do you have any other tips you’d like to share? I’d love to know!

Would you like any kind of other “how to” blog posts like these from me? About blogging organizations and spreadsheets? About comments, about freaking out, aboutttttttt I don’t know? Let me know everything in comments, I would love to know your thoughts.

Thank you so much for providing all of your tags! I’m not technically new to the blogging community, since I’ve had my blog for I think a year now, but I’ve only recently become more active and am trying to reach out to make some friends. It’ll help me out a lot to have some to look through.

I’ll check out that meme directory! I’ll pull the ones that are still active into my own book meme directory. A lot of these aren’t being hosted anymore unfortunately. Thanks for sharing Marie!! This is a great post. Interacting with others really is key to getting followers. I just don’t have your skill with comments but that’s okay. You’re success would totally overwhelm me. I’m happy when others stop in sometimes and share their perspective! ❤️

AHHH DANI you have a book meme directory?? How did I miss it? I’ll check out your blog right away to add your link to this post! 😀
You’re so, so welcome, thank you SO much for your sweet words, wow, that means the world to me ❤ ❤ ❤

These were some great tips, Marie! And I have to say for me the #1 thing I ALWAYS notice is the design. We all love seeing beautiful things – it’s what draws me in most of the time. So if a blog isn’t appealing to me within a few seconds, chances are, I don’t really stick around to find out if I love their content. And right after design, it’s definitely consistency. Because once I’m on a blog I love to quickly scroll through the recent posts to see how often someone uploads to their blog and if it’s regularly or not.

But for me personally, I think the number one way to gain followers and interaction was through meeting new bloggers and commenting on their posts or following them on other platforms (mainly Twitter, I think) and building a relationship that way. And those are going to be the things that keep you motivated to blog more and to improve as a blogger.

I’ve had a couple of times where I thought maybe a break from blogging would turn into my leaving the blog for good but it’s always been the relationships to my fellow bloggers that kept me motivated to come back again and again. And I can’t even count how many times friends like you and Caro and so many others have given my content shoutouts and directed people my way – it’s something I’m forever grateful for.

And I love your comment about finding one’s blogging voice and the mention of Cait. There was a time probably about a year ago where it seemed like quite a few people were trying to imitate her voice and it was pretty obvious too. I want to follow you because I like YOUR voice and not because you remind me of Cait (who is freaking awesome at blogging, writing and bookstagram – to have even a BIT of her talent would be awesome, not gonna lie).

Replying to your own comments is also so important – we all know I suck at blog-hopping but the one thing I always want to make sure I do is to reply to the comments people leave on my blog. I remember how much it meant to me when I first started out as a tiny new blogger to see people taking the time to respond to my comments and it’s still something I really appreciate to this day.

Um, I’d basically take any and all tips you have to offer on blogging and staying organized! I’m the worst at being organized so whenever someone can offer their tips and what works for them, I always hope that SOMETHING sticks for me. xD Also, spreadsheets. Always!

And because I can’t possibly leave your blog without having commented on your Instagram feed at the bottom, I just want to say: I’M SO FREAKING HAPPY YOU READ THE SIX OF CROWS DUOLOGY. BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY THAT YOU LOVED IT TOO! I don’t know if I could’ve continued talking to you otherwise. 😛

I am the exact same way – it feels shallow to say it, but we are visual-beings and we can’t help it, we notice a blog’s design first and if it doesn’t look appealing or/and is just not lisible at all, I’m going to have a hard time sticking around.

I completely agree with you! Meeting new bloggers and chatting with them, through comments and everything, does huge things both for your following and for your motivation, too. Blogging is just so much more fun when you’re not alone 🙂 I am so, so happy that blogging friends kept you coming back and you know, it’s always a pleasure to link back to your awesome content whenever I can, you are writing great posts and doing so great! ❤ ❤

Well you won't be disappointed then, you will get a blog post about organization very soon 😀
Hahaha I'm glad then that I enjoyed Six of Crows, the pressure was HIGHHHHHHHH hahaha.

Thank you so, so, so much for taking the time to leave such a sweet comment! ❤ ❤ ❤

Hello Marie ❤
I love your "how-to" blog posts! It's great to hear from someone with as much blogging experience as you! I agree with all of your points here. Even though my blog is much smaller than yours, I am already struggling with replying to comments in a timely fashion and blog-hopping. I am amazed how you do it all!
I do love the blogging community which is what keeps me going all this time 🙂
I would love to read a post about how you organize your blogging! I have a baby spreadsheet buuuuut not too sure how it is working for me. Looking forward to seeing what tips you have to offer!

Aww thank you so, so much, Sophie, this means a lot! ❤ ❤ ❤
The book blogging community and chatting with everyone is what keeps me going as well and makes me motivated every day, too. I love it so, very much, even if at times it is a bit overwhelming, I love it too much haha 🙂
Well you will be happy to know that you won't have to wait for too long, I already planned a little something about organization very soon, I hope it will be useful 😀

Omg yes please, I would love to read all about your origanisation skills, as that would really help me out! 💗
Thank you for all the helpful tips! I adore memes and challenges and book tags – they are such a great way to put out content and connect with fellow bloggers! I often get lots of interaction from different people on my T5W posts, as I visit everyone in the Goodreads group and you can post your link there for others to check out 🙂

Aww well you’ll be happy to know that I have an organization post coming soon, hopefully that will be something you’ll enjoy 😀
Ohhh that’s such an amazing thing – I have kind of stopped doing memes altogether but I love seeing how much interaction and fun meetings they manage to bring. They’re so great 😀

Oh I hope these tips will help – and don’t worry about it too much, you are already doing GREAT, we all have lives and everything happening alongside blogging, things that need to be prioritized. As long as you’re enjoying yourself when you are blogging that’s what matters 😀

These tips are great! I really want to join blogging not just to blog but for the community! I would love to join this community because I love talking to everyone about books! But I am super impatient so I’m not sure how I would be with that XD I also love it when people comment back on their own blogs! Or at the very least like it! Knowing that people read the comment and want to talk back makes me more inclined to comment more! So yea I definitely agree with you!

Aww thank you so much, so happy you like these 😀
I 200% agree with you here, this is why I’m here and why I keep on blogging, for the community. I am always so impatient to chat with people and comment on their posts and spread the love, too. It’s the best thing about blogging overall 😀
Don’t be afraid, everyone is so welcoming and you can join us anytime 😀

This is a fab post 🙂
I think being an active part of the community, rather than expecting people to give to you while you give nothing in return, is definitely key.
Cora | http://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk/

I have read a lot of blog posts for advice about this stuff, outside the book blogging community and written by those in completely different parts of the internet. In my experience, what you’ve outlined is the most effective technique for getting started and keeping up with the book blogging community. I used to have so many people to talk to because I was super active with the community but a lot of those people stopped blogging and I became less active. It’s a much better experienced here though when you do interact with others. Great post!

Oh thank you so, so much for your sweet comment, that means a lot! ❤ I so agree with you here, it's a much better experience when you are interacting with other people and it's so much more fun to do so, as well. We get to meet incredible people and have amazing bookish recommendations and more and… that's what I am here for 😀

Oh thank you so, so much Elise, I’m so happy you enjoyed it! ❤ ❤
I agree with you – sometimes I start reading a new blog, then I feel this sort of, familiarity, only to realize that they are actually copying another blogger's writing style and trying to imitate their voices. It's too bad though, everyone is unique and has their own way of writing, speaking and screaming about books, there really is no need to copy in order to stand out, it's being yourself that will make you stand out 🙂
Thank you so, so much for your sweet comment! ❤ ❤

Interaction is KEY! I’ve found that sticking to our own little community doesn’t help us grow. We have to be brave enough to talk to strangers and branch out! Consistency and variations in their posts are something I also look for. Reviews are great but I want to know more about the blogger as a person.

Having a steady relationships with other bloggers is a gift! I love knowing more about people and send messages from time to time. I do get anxious because I wonder if I’m bothering them or if they even want to talk to me! Ah well, we won’t know until we try haha Lovely post, Marie!

I agree with you – I also love when there is diversity in content and when we get to know the blogger a bit more through other kind of blog posts, than just reviews, it’s always so much more interesting 🙂

I 200% get that, I was and still am very nervous sometimes when I leave a comment, I’m always scared to come off as annoying or something. But the community has been so welcoming and interacting with others is honestly the best thing about book blogging, ever ❤

Oh thank you so, so very much Nicole, this just made my entire day ❤ Thank you for your sweet words, I am so happy if this could be useful! ❤

Oh aerm… that's a complicated question 😂 I mostly tend to have time dedicated to blogging or reading. I know that I personally have a lot of time since I have a two hour commute every day for work, so I get loads of reading done then – as for blogging, I dedicate part of my weekends to blog post writing and my week days to blog-hops and comments.
There IS never enough time, that is true, unfortunately 😂 we're all doing our best, do what you like the most and take it easy, and have fun! 😀 ❤